Australia reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in 16 years after shocking Denmark.
The Danes, who needed the win to progress, dominated the ball but were caught off guard at the break when Australia scored the winner on the hour mark.
Denmark lost possession in the Australian box and Mathew Leckie completed a brilliant counterattack with a low shot past Kasper Schmeichel.
Australia finish second in Group D with six points, only behind world champions France on goal difference.
Denmark meanwhile leave Qatar 2022 in disappointing fashion, with just one point from three matches bottom of the group.
Australia will now face the winners of Group C – with Poland, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Mexico all with a chance to top the table – on Saturday (1900 GMT).
Black horses run away from Denmark
Denmark entered the World Cup with many fans and pundits as ‘dark horses’ after their impressive run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals and a strong UEFA Nations League campaign during which they beat France home and away.
However, they failed to impress in Qatar and return home having scored just once in three Group D matches.
Their attacking struggles were acknowledged by manager Kasper Hjulmand who has made three changes since the loss to France, all in attacking positions.
Martin Braithwaite, Brentford midfielder Mathias Jensen and Andreas Skov Olsen came on as Mikkel Damsgaard, Victor Nelsson and striker Andreas Cornelius fell to the bench – but the changes made no difference.
The Danes’ best chance came from Jensen in the first half, who forced Australia captain Mat Ryan into an impressive acrobatic save after being played by a Braithwaite flick.
However, it was telling that Denmark’s most threatening striker was left-back Joakim Maehle, who tested Australia with his test runs but was not sufficiently supported by those more advanced.
They demanded a second-half penalty when Kasper Dolberg was brought down in the box, but he was narrowly offside as the Danish campaign fizzled out.
Denmark are continuing their longest World Cup streak without a win, having failed to win in any of their last six games in the competition, with four draws.
Solid Australians show the spirit of 2006
Australia, the lowest-seeded team in Group D, led the game at their own pace and the largely uneventful encounter served their needs perfectly, with a draw potentially enough to get them started on the day. second in the group with three points.
However, just as news of Tunisia taking a shock lead against France filtered through, which would have eliminated them on goal difference had they drawn here, Leckie sprang into action.
Dolberg lost the ball in the Australian box and his side were caught at the break. Melbourne City winger Leckie ran confidently towards the Danish defense and struck a left-footed shot between Maehle’s legs past Schmeichel inside the far post.
It saw them reach the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time since 2006, when a star-studded side including Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer were only stopped by eventual champions Italy.
This squad includes far fewer big names but brought together by captain and former Brighton and Arsenal goalkeeper Ryan, they recovered from a 4-1 loss to France in their opener – where they were naively opened up and separated by Kylian Mbappe and co – to grind out the required results.
It was Ryan who guided Australia through the nerve-wracking final six minutes of added time, claiming corners with aplomb.
A header from Cornelius looped over the roof of the net in stoppage time but a historic win was assured.
